NEWS RELEASE – PREPARED BY Meg E. Overocker
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS EXTENSION – Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall, Putnam Unit
Marshall-Putnam Master Gardener Wins 2019 University of Illinois Extension State Master Gardener Sustained Excellence Award
On Friday, September 6th, 2019, Master Gardener Volunteer Barb Dahlbach of Toluca, Illinois received a well-deserved University of Illinois Extension State Master Gardener Sustained Excellence Award. The award was given during the annual State Master Gardener Conference held this year in Moline. The State Master Gardener Sustained Excellence Award recognizes previous State Outstanding Master Gardener Award winners who have continued to develop in their Master Gardener career with new responsibilities and initiatives, and those whose breadth and depth of involvement in the program is exemplary and has continued on that level since receiving the Outstanding Master Gardener Award. Each person nominated is an exceptional example to Master Gardeners within their County and Unit, as well as to others in the state.
Ms. Dahlbach has been an Illinois Master Gardener since 1996. In that time, she has won the State Master Gardener Teamwork Award for the “Healthy Gardening” Project (2015), the State Master Gardener Teamwork Award for the “Seeds to Harvest” Project (2016), and the Outstanding Master Gardener Award (2017). In March of 2019, she was awarded a “Know More Grow More” mini-grant for the Healthy Gardening Project, a project she has chaired since 2011, and was selected in April of 2019 to be a member on the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener State Advisory Committee representing the Northwest Region. In her spare time, she loves throwing seed sorting parties and being with her grandchildren.
The University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener Program extends its appreciation for her many years of outstanding service, and for the positive impacts she has had on her community and others across the state. Congratulations Barb!
The Mission of the University of Illinois Extension is to provide practical education you can trust to help people, businesses, and communities solve problems, develop skills, and build a better future. University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. Visit our website at http://extension.illinois.edu/blmp/
For more information, call Meg Overocker, Extension Program Coordinator, at the LaSalle County Extension Office, 815-433-0707.
